Living through one of the biggest economic, booms in U.S. history provided many Americans with the opportunity to amass great personal fortunes. Whether by getting lucky in the stock market, making the most of stock options, or being on the ground floor of an Internet start-up, many Americans struck it rich in the 1990s. So many, in fact, that the old tried-and-true ways of getting rich—perseverance and perspiration&mdash seemed destined to fall by the wayside. Between 1995 and 1998 about one million new millionaires appeared. The term "having two commas" signified that some-one had achieved his or her first million. The number of Americans enjoying "three commas," or their first billion, went up, too. Forbes magazine reported in 1999 that on its list of the 400 richest Americans, 250 were billionaires, up 60 from the previous year.

The Federal Reserve.

For years the Federal Reserve...